# Tim Lagasse

Tim Lagasse (born 1968/1969) is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, actor and director. He has worked on films and television programs for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO. He is known for playing the title character on Noggin's Oobi, and Crash on Disney XD's Crash & Bernstein.
Lagasse has been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. In 1991, he became the first recipient of the Jim Henson Memorial Prize in Puppetry. In 1993 he was presented with a Citation for Excellence by UNIMA; and later that year, received a Broadcast Design Silver Award for his series of short films, A Show of Hands.

## Biography

Lagasse was born in Milford, Connecticut. He attended St. Mary's School and Notre Dame High School in West Haven, and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1992 with a BFA in Puppet Arts.
One of his earliest roles was Mr. Cook on the Nickelodeon series Allegra's Window. He also played the title character on the Noggin's Oobi series, and Crash on Disney XD's Crash & Bernstein. He has performed additional characters on Sesame Street, The Muppets and the 2008 film A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. In addition to his performance credits, he has built puppets for The Jim Henson Company and Puppet Heap.
Lagasse also teaches the art of puppetry, lecturing at the Lincoln Center Foundation and instructing students on modern puppetry techniques at the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program. In 2011 he offered workshops on building puppets at the University of Central Arkansas as part of Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams Film Festival. In 2012 he traveled to Haiti with No Strings Productions as a puppet workshop trainer.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credit(s) | Role(s) |
| 1994–1996 | Allegra's Window | Principal puppeteer | Mr. Cook Tweeter |
| 1995–1998 | Nick in the Afternoon | Principal puppeteer Puppet designer Puppet coordinator | Additional puppets |
| 1995 | Weinerville | Guest puppeteer | Coach Loogi |
| 1996-1998 | Once Upon a Tree | Principal Puppeteer Puppet coordinator | Jasper the Hare, Bleu the Cricket |
| 1996–1998 | The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss | Ensemble puppeteer | Fox in Socks Junior Kangaroo Little Cat P Sidney the Spider |
| 1997–2006 | Bear in the Big Blue House | Ensemble puppeteer | Jet Setter Tutter |
| 1999–2000 | A Little Curious | Principal puppeteer Puppet coordinator Puppet builder | |
| 2000–present | Sesame Street | Ensemble puppeteer | Additional puppets |
| 2000–2010 | Between the Lions | Principal puppeteer Puppet designer Director | Arty Smartypants Barnaby B. Busterfield III Gus the Bunny |
| 2000–2005 | Oobi | Principal puppeteer Puppet coordinator Director (shorts) | Oobi Taro |
| 2003–2006 | Chappelle's Show | Puppet coordinator | |
| 2003–2008 | Paz | Principal puppeteer Puppet coordinator | Paz |
| 2004 | Blue's Room | Puppet designer | Polka Dots Dress Up Chest |
| 2005–2009 | Johnny and the Sprites | Principal puppeteer Director (one episode) | Basil |
| 2006–2007 | It's a Big Big World | Principal puppeteer Director (seven episodes) | Wartz the Frog Ick the Catfish |
| 2007 | Imagination Movers | Puppet designer | |
| 2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Ensemble puppeteer | Additional puppets |
| 2010 | The Electric Company | Director (ten episodes) | |
| 2012–2014 | Crash & Bernstein | Principal puppeteer | Crash |
| 2015–2016 | The Muppets | Ensemble puppeteer | Additional puppets |
| 2017 | The Muppets Take the Bowl | Ensemble puppeteer | Additional Muppet Performer, live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10 |
| 2018 | The Muppets Take the O2 | Ensemble puppeteer | Additional Muppet Performer, live show at the O2 Arena, Jul. 13–14 |
| 2019–2023 | Helpsters | Ensemble puppeteer | Scatter |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Presenter | Category/Award | Work | Status |
| 1991 | University of Connecticut | Jim Henson Memorial Prize in Puppetry | N/A | Won |
| 1993 | Union Internationale de la Marionette | Citation for Excellence | A Show of Hands | Won |
| 1993 | Broadcast Design International | Broadcast Design Silver Award | A Show of Hands | Won |
| 2003 | 30th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single Camera Editing | Between the Lions | Nominated |
| 2004 | 31st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling | Between the Lions | Nominated |
| 2004 | 31st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Editing | Between the Lions | Nominated |
| 2005 | American Theatre Wing | Henry Hewes Design Award | Uncle Jimmy's Dirty Basement | Nominated |